Blast From the Past
by karly05
Summary: Ferb and Vanessa take his classic '50s coupe to the Doo Wop Hop and Car Show, where Vanessa runs into a certain ex of hers. Ferbnessa Forever!


**A/N – When I wrote "Warming Up," I had Vanessa tell Ferb that she hadn't had another "real boyfriend" since Johnny. Well, obviously I had no idea at the time that they were going to throw Monty at us. So, this is my attempt to deal with my inadvertent mistake. I do not plan to write any more about Monty after this. Everyone belongs to Dan & Swampy.**

**Oh and, since my stories all tie together and tend to refer back to each other, now might be a good time to read the one I call "Our Mutual Friend."**

Blast From the Past

Vanessa Doofenshmirtz cast a critical eye over the classic cars lined up at this year's Doo Wop Hop and Car Show. There were some pretty sharp entries, she conceded, but nothing that could compete with her boyfriend's custom ride. The two-toned plum and buttercream coupe had attracted a lot of notice, and she smiled as she strolled back toward it. The proud owner had popped the hood and was showing off his engine modifications to a couple of curious bystanders. Ferb Fletcher was one cool cat, thought Vanessa, with an admiring gaze. The green-haired teen was tall and rangy – that was the adjective she liked best for him – and looked perfectly at ease in his black leather jacket and shades. As she came nearer, he glanced in her direction and shot her a quick twitch of his lips in acknowledgement of her presence. She blew an equally subtle kiss back at him before he turned again to the people examining his tricked out '50s car. Completely absorbed in watching him, she was caught off guard by the familiar voice that suddenly came from behind her.

"Vanessa?"

She knew at once who it was, but it still surprised her to see the brown-haired young man with the distinctively curved nose and monobrow. "Monty?"

"Yeah," he acknowledged, with a modest shrug. "Wow, I haven't seen you in a long time. You look great."

"Thanks," she answered, tugging awkwardly at the sleeve of her lilac angora sweater. After an uncomfortable moment of silence, she added, "You look good, too." _Good grief, Monty?_ She hadn't even thought of the chance of running into him here, but she shouldn't have been shocked. After all, they had come to the Hop together when she was sixteen, and they were dating. _If that's what you want to call it_, she corrected, recalling their sporadic, sparring attempts at a relationship. "Um, how's your dad?" she ventured.

"Same as ever," he answered, with an exasperated chuckle. "How about yours? Blown himself up lately?"

Vanessa could feel herself instinctively bristle at this remark, but quickly covered her annoyance with an off-handed reply of, "Oh, you know. Same old, same old." As she spoke, she cast a sidelong glance in Ferb's direction. The shades obscured his eyes, and she wasn't certain if he had seen her talking with this strange man. She had an unsettling recollection that she had never told him about Monty. Not that she had deliberately kept that bit of her past from him; it had simply never come up. And why should it? Nothing had _happened_ between them. Nothing serious, anyway. She'd gone farther with Johnny, and Ferb knew all about that.

Monty was looking around at the nearby automobiles and remarked, "A lot of entries this year. Let me guess: the purple one's your favorite." He said this in a teasing way, knowing her fondness for the color.

Vanessa leapt at the opportunity and told him, "Yeah, it belongs to my boyfriend." She was looking more openly in Ferb's direction now, and could tell by his posture that he was looking back at them. She flashed him a small smile and waggled her fingers in a deliberately cute wave. Ferb responded with an upward twitch of his head that passed for a nod and turned back to his own conversation. When Vanessa looked for Monty's reaction to this, she found his brow narrowed in an expression of uncertain surprise.

"That's your boyfriend?"

He didn't look very happy about it, and Vanessa felt a pleasant tingle at the thought that he might be jealous. "Yeah, that's Ferb." She threw in a dreamy sigh as she added, "He's pretty terrific."

"How did you meet _him_?"

Vanessa was still relishing that tone of displeasure as she blithely replied, "Oh, I've known him for years. Since before I met you, actually."

"But, he's – " Monty blurted, before biting his tongue.

"Too young for me?" Vanessa arched an eyebrow, knowing exactly where this was going. "No. No, he's not. Besides, I'm the bad girl, remember? Seducing innocent boys is what I do."

"Hey," Monty protested, "my dad never said – "

"Yeah, whatever," Vanessa blew this off, rolling her eyes. _Great, two minutes and we're already bickering._ But Monty abandoned this fight to plunge into a fresh line of interrogation.

"How well do you know Ferb? Has he met your dad?"

She was surprised by his demanding tone and retorted, "Believe it or not, my dad actually likes him. Well, as much as he likes any guy I've brought home," she qualified this. With a grumble, she remarked, "I'm still his Baby Girl, and he still has to do his Protective Father Dance, but he thinks Ferb's all right. Probably because Ferb actually _respects_ him." She had to get this dig in. No matter how quick she was to laugh or groan at her father's foibles, Monty's derisive jabs at him had sometimes stung too much.

With a look of alarm, the young Monogram exclaimed, "Does he know what your father _does?_" Taking a step toward her, he lowered his voice. "Does he know about — " Hesitating as he searched for a word, he dropped his volume another notch and muttered through his teeth, "the _Agency_?"

Vanessa took a step back, startled by the question. Monty wasn't jealous, he was just worried about his precious O.W.C.A. Did he know about Perry's relationship with the Flynn-Fletchers? Did he think she had gone after Ferb just to blow Perry's cover? Did he think Ferb was _evil_? Hands balling into fists, Vanessa glared up at him and said in an undertone, "Ferb doesn't know anything he shouldn't know." _Well,_ she rationalized to herself, _he doesn't know anything that Perry isn't all right with him knowing. _"My dad never talks to him about that stuff." This, at least, was the truth. Vanessa had warned her father from the start not to mention his little platypus friend in front of Ferb, lest her boyfriend think he was crazy. Dad still found plenty to blather about – he never got tired of recounting the agonies of his childhood – but he'd actually managed to avoid any brags or rants about having a Nemesis. Now she saw from the corner of her eye that Ferb was sauntering in their direction, and it was with a sense of relief that she turned her face toward his.

The black glasses still concealed the windows to his soul, but there was a slight compression to his lips that she read as, _Is this chap bothering you?_ Vanessa reached out to him as he came within range, and Ferb took her right hand in his left, lacing their fingers together. He kept his face turned toward Monty as Vanessa slipped her free hand around Ferb's left arm, just above the elbow, and snuggled against him. "Ferb, this is an old friend of mine," she informed him, stumbling only slightly over the words.

With an untroubled smile, Monty extended his hand. "Monty Monogram."

Ferb, with his inscrutable cool, responded with a finger snap and a point. Monty looked flummoxed by this gesture, but kept a game grin on his face, then Ferb pushed the shades up onto his forehead and reached out for a proper handshake. "Ferb Fletcher." His lips curled slightly upward as he said, "A pleasure to meet you."

"You, too," Monty nodded as they clasped hands. "Cool car," he acknowledged, as well, before backing away. Vanessa was aware of his eyes boring into Ferb's, trying to read something – anything – from the green-haired boy's expression. _Good luck with that_, she suppressed a snicker. At last, Monty turned to her and said, "It was nice running into you, Vanessa."

"Yeah." She left it at that as Monty turned and walked away from them.

They stayed exactly as they were for a few seconds until Vanessa dropped her forehead against Ferb's shoulder and groaned, "Well, _that_ was awkward." She released her grip on his arm, but left her hand twined with his.

"Monty Monogram?" Ferb's voice was low and, if she hadn't known better, Vanessa would have thought he sounded faintly amused.

She couldn't look at him, though, and turned her face away as she confessed, "I know, I should have told you about him, but it never came up, and besides, it was nothing – well, obviously it was something," she corrected, "but it wasn't anything, really." She felt Ferb detach his hand from hers and lay it on her shoulder as she blathered on. "We kind of dated off and on for a while, it was years ago, I was sixteen and I'd just broken up with Johnny for the first time, and I ran into Monty at Steam Noir and he was nice and we had coffee and, well, it wasn't like I was going to start dating _you_, you were just a kid then…" Finally meeting his eyes, she assured him, "Ferb, there's nothing for you to be jealous about."

His look was patient and loving and he smiled a bit as he said, "Good. Because I'm not." How he could handle things so maturely at the tender age of sixteen never ceased to amaze her, but it was one of the innumerable qualities she loved best about him. As she absorbed this, he explained, "I only meant – Monogram? As in…?" He leaned in, his nose touching her temple, and whispered, "Perry's boss?"

"Yeah," Vanessa murmured, "his dad is Major Monogram."

Any lingering concerns she had about Ferb's feelings were washed away by his soft chuckle. "Your father must have been thrilled when you brought _him_ home."

"Oh, we kept it a big secret from our dads," Vanessa had to laugh a little herself at the memory. "For as long as we could, anyway. It was like Romeo and Juliet without all the dying. Honestly, that was the best part of it, all the sneaking around, like we were doing something dangerous."

Ferb looked pensive as he remarked, "Perhaps I shouldn't have insisted on being so open with our parents."

"No," she answered him, "you were right about that. Besides," she nestled against his chest as he slid his arms around her, "you and I are already scandalous without the sneaking around. Sweet Boy," she murmured teasingly, her fingers caressing the back of his neck.

There was the most charming glint in his eyes, thought Vanessa, as he bent down to lightly kiss her and mutter against her cheek the words, "Wicked Temptress." Ferb took her by the shoulders and put enough space between them to be certain she could see his face as he said, "Vanessa, I'm not bothered by anyone in your past. I always knew I wouldn't be your first love." With that adorable, adoring look that never failed to melt her heart, Ferb declared, "I only want to be your last."

THE END

_**FERBNESSA FOREVER! **_**:-)**


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